Live on £4000 for a year - part 4 (Oct - Dec 2008)

Janey51

redglass wrote: »

What a horrible way to carry on, but the fact they have been reported before is actually good for you; you could threaten to start up another story if they don't back off. I can understand why they'd go to a graveyard, actually; pestering someone who's been bereaved is inexcusable, but in their line of work they must also find quite a lot of people trying to work scams, including people 'playing dead'.

Thing is, they have already had a certified copy of the death certificate :mad:

bails

Welcome back Janey, glad you had a great time! Ignore that horrible letter; I don't know how some people can do their jobs sometimes, I really don't :mad: I loved Mum's Memory today, fab! :T

Will go and check my ISAs in a min but quick question for the cooks out there - I have a recipe that needs vanilla extract; I have vanilla flavouring in the cupboard (no idea why ) are these the same thing? Is mine a poor man's version? :rotfl:It asks for 2 tspns, do I use the same amount if I can use it? Thanks a lot!
EDIT: I have answered my own question, flavouring is synthetic. The question now is, can I bring myself to buy some vanilla extract?

Have a good day everyone; I'm decluttering my office - mixed feelings of dread and excitement about that

Mollymop5

Oh my.I've just realised October came and went without me updating on spends.I must go and check out spendingdiary.com and my bank account and will post details over the weekend.I know I am sailing very close to the wind now and may be bust beginning or mid December.I fel so proud to have managed so far so I'm not going to beat myself up over it.Roll on January new start and new budget
Pleased you had a good break Janey.How exciting to get the keys nyk.
Enjoy your day everyone

sophiesmum_2

Good afternoon frunchkins:D

Back home from the lakes, had a lovely relaxing break, lots of walking as planned ,also had a trip into keswick and to windermere (for lakeland:p ). Lodge backed onto the forrest and each morning we had red squirrels and pheasants as well as lots of birdlife right outside the window. It was lovely.
I was very good in Lakeland and only bought some new .5litre preserving jars and a couple of new knives. We had lunch in the cafe upstairs while we were there, the food was good but pricey. OH was impressed with the tv screens in the toilets but did say he nearly piddled on his foot as he wasn't paying attention:rotfl: . They had free internet there too, I was going to drop you all a line but couldn't get near for all the men who had been abandoned there whilst their women folk were browsing the store:D
Missed the internet whilst I was away - no internet or phone reception where we stayed - makes you think about what you take for granted:rolleyes:

Arrived back to DD's road tax renewal for scooter, and scooter insurance renewal. Need to see if can get a bettter deal on this now she has a years no claims .
Also while we have been away she managed to get a rusty pitchfork stuck in her leg,(courtesy of friend fooling about at stable:mad: ) and has had to go to casualty, it got infected(rust and horse poo not good combination) so she now has a cannula in her arm and has to go next 3 days for antibiotic injections, so said friend is currently having to muck out horse whilst she is out of action:rolleyes:
Kids !!!!!

shaz_mum_of__2

OOhh sophiesmum that sounds painful ......pleased you had a nice time ,i love keswick my hubby proposed to me at lake buttermere on the shore in fact this is the view from the exact spot..(taken 5 minutes later when i recovered from the shock)




also been wondering about stoozing too tempted just to pay off cards and have done with it but scared i might miss out!!

Shaz

bails

Glad you has a lovely time Sophiesmum!
Getting the key Nyk, how exciting!
Lovely spot Shaz.
My mortgage lender is passing on the cut so I'm well excited now! woohoo!

purplevamp

Janey - so glad you had a great break, but a bummer about the letter. If it's true about visiting graveyards then that is so out of order, I hope it is sensationalism, most upsetting for relatives otherwise. Your quiches sound sooo good, I love HM quiche . I made some muesli flapjacks last night, although very tasty, need to be warmed slightly to soften them.

Bails - you're right about the vanilla. Essence is the cheap liquidy one and extract is the better quality one. If you can afford to buy it then get the extract, much better taste.


sophiesmum - welcome back!! Sounds like you had a fantastic time. Tv's in the loo? Whatever next?! :rolleyes: :rotfl: . I hope your daughter recovers soon from her accident. I can't imagine the pain .

I'm glad it's the weekend as work has been so busy, what with being off last week. Off to see my Mum tomorrow in hospital, got her some roses and chocs (fingers crossed she's not allowed chocolates :rotfl: )

Frugaldom

Welcome back Sophiesmum, glad you had a good time but sorry to hear about DD's misadventure.

Molly, glad you are still with us. Don't worry about breaking your budget, just think of what you could have spent had you not been keeping a watchful eye on your money 2009 is just around the next corner, so we can all start frugalising afresh.

Got the keys to new house and have spent a few hours there washing out cupboards, cleaning windows and floors plus shampooing the carpet that we managed to rescue. I'll soon have a lovely 9' x 6' oval Chinese rug to hide any marks but, to be honest, it shampooed up not too badly. I've managed to round up several pairs of curtains and yards of material, so that'll take care of frugal window dressing. I think the kitchen will be the most expensive place to kit out, as there are very few units. I'd really like a huge dresser and a butcher's trolley but we've still got to buy a cooker and washing machine.

There is a tremendous amount of work to be done to get anywhere close to establishing a garden for next year - it's a bit of a mini-wilderness at the moment, but there's plenty of scope for a self-sufficientish wannabe.

cw18

taka wrote: »

..... and its looking a horribly high a rate if Nationwide pass on the int changes

cw18 wrote: »

They only passed on 0.3% of the 0.5% cut last month, so I'll also be watching them with eagle eyes this time. But in our case it's because if they don't pass on the full rate we have to find more of the payment after IS Mortgage Assistance

(We've been on variable with them right from the outset in May 2002)

Nationwide have announced today they're passing on the full 1.5%......

Great news for me :T

Marru

Hello all,

I have read all the messages but have completely forgotten by now who said what and what I was supposed to say except: Congrats Nyk for the keys and getting the removal moving on, Sophiesmum - glad you had great time and nice to have you back, Janey - I am sure it will sort itself out, it is upsetting and feels like banging your head against brick wall.

I have had a heck of a week. Enough for me to go and get some fortified wine to help me relax tonight. Moneywise it hasn't been bad: two mystery shops, 6 books sold, received money from 7 months worth of accounting work and also got some of my September child care and petrol costs reimbursed by Adult Learning Grant. I really need to look my finances very closely this weekend as I still haven't updated last two months and their effect for my remaining budget. Also tomorrow I need to update my todo list that has been ignored for last three days.

I better go and fill my report of today's mystery shop before I am too drunk to do it.

Hopefully everybody is having a lovely evening,

Marru